Bottle cooler



Fgb. 17, 1942. .E. C. TANNER 2,273,233

BOTTLE COOLER Filed Aug. 24, 1938 3% :Eii \I a w WITNESSES: INVENTOR QM!5 BY I ATTORNEY Patented Feb. 17, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT OWestinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company, East Pittsburgh, Pa., acorporation of Pennsylvania Application August 24, 1938, Serial No.226,425

Claims.

This invention relates to dry bottle coolers of the type usedby'retailers of chilled bottled beverages and to a method of operatingthe same.

Bottle coolers of this type are either of the liquid bath type in whichthe bottles are immersed in a bath of chilled water, or of the dry type"in which the bottles are cooled by circulated chilled air. Bottlecoolers of the dry type have the inherent disadvantage'of cooling thebottles more slowly and, therefore, such bottle coolers must be of alarger size in order to equal the cooling capacity of bottle coolersemploying a liquid bath. This larger size entails a greater initialexpense and occasions a greater heat loss because of the larger wallsurfaces of.such

coolers.

One object of this invention is to provide a dry refrigerator forcooling bottles and the like in which the cooling of the bottles isaccelerated to permita reduction in the size of the refrigerator.

Anotherobject is to provide a refrigerator of the type described throughwhich the articles to be refrigerated are m ved in an orderly fashion toinsure that the co dest articles are removed Another object is toprovide a refrigerator of the type described which permits of inspectionof the indicia on the caps of the bottles in the refrigerator todetermine the contents of the bottles.

These and other objects are effected by my in- I vention aswill beapparent from the following description and claims taken in connectionwith .the accompanying drawing, forming a part of this application, inwhich;

The single figure of the drawing is a perspective view of the bottlecooler: of this invention with parts broken away to show the interiorarrangement of the cooler.

In the drawing the reference numeral l0 designates'a rectangular shellof sheet material, the upper and lower edges of which are rolledinwardly. A horizontal sheet ll of material is secured in the shellsomewhat above the lower edge and forms the bottom of'the chamber I2.The chamber I2 is lined with insulating material l3 and is provided withan inner liner M of sheet material which is secured at its upper edgesto 'th upper inturned edge of the shell.

The opening in the top of the chamber .l2 is partially closed by aninsulated panel l5 secured to the upper edges of the side walls l5 andspaced from the end walls I1 to provide an opening l8 and I3 adjacenteach of the end walls II. The

openings l8 and I9 are provided with covers 2| adapted to slide over thepanel IS. The covers 2| and the panel l5 each comprise upper and lowersheets of material 22 and 23 spaced from one another and joined togetherat their edges. Insulating material 24 is packed injthespace between thesheets. g

An evaporator or cooling unit 25 is located in the bottom of the chamberl2 and, extends from one side wall l6 to the other but is spaced fromthe end walls H. The evaporator 25 comprises a number of spaced metalplates 26 running parallel to the side walls l5 of the. chamber I2through which plates26 a refrigerant carrying tube 21 is passed back andforth. The tube 21 may be supplied with refrigerant from acompressor-condenser. unit not shown in the drawing.

A centrifugal blower or fan 28'is located in the chamber l2 between theevaporator 25 and one of the end walls I! and is driven by an electricmotor 29 secured to the lower surface of the sheet II by means ofbrackets 3|. The motor 29 drives the blower 28 through a shaft 32 whichpasses through the sheet II, the insulation l3, and the inner liner I4.A shroud 33 around the blower 28 directs the air circulated by it to theedge portion of the evaporator 25 and between the spaced apart plates28.

A metal sheet 34 covers the evaporator 25 and is turned upwardly atright angles at the edge of the evaporator 25 farthest removed from theblower 28 and is secured to the upper portion of the adjacent end wallIT. The upturned portion 35 of the sheet 34 is foraminated so that theair circulated by the blower 28 passes between the spaced plates 28 ofthe evaporator 25 through' the space between the end wall ll ofthe-chamher and the upturned portion 35 of the sheet 34, through theforaminations in this portion 35, and through the interior of thechamber l2. The

air returns to the blower 28 through a hole 35 in' the sheet 34 and asecond hole 31 in the shroud 33. The chamber I2 is provided with anumber of wire cages 38 mounted on casters 39. The cages 38 are open attheir tops and are of a size to pass through the opening l8, through thechamber cooling of the bottles. ll in the cage 38 adjacent the openingH? are in the rows of bottles to facilitate the proper circulation ofair.

The operation of the bottle cooler is as follows: The warm bottles to becooled are placed in the cages and the cages inserted in the cabinet.The bottles in the cage nearest the opening I9 adjacent the foraminatedportion 35 of the sheet 34 will receive the coldest air and will coolmost rapidly. When these bottles are sufficiently cooled they areremoved through the opening l9 as sales of the bottled beverages aremade. When this cage is emptied it is removed from the chamber andrefilled with warm bottles. The remaining cages 38 in the chamber l2 aremoved to the left as viewed in the drawing and the cage with the warmbottles is inserted in the chamber through the opening 18 adjacent theblower. This process is repeated whenever a cage is emptied so that thecoldest bottles will always be adjacent the opening l9.

It will be observed that the bottles 4| move counter to the flow of therefrigerated air in the chamber I2 thus providing for a faster rate ofThe caps of the bottles full view of the storekeeper so that the properbottle may be withdrawn without occasioning an undue loss ofrefrigerated air while hunting for the proper bottle.

From the above it will be apparent that this invention provides a bottlecooler of the dry type in which the cooling of the bottles isaccelerated, in which the bottles are moved in an orderly fashionthrough the refrigerator to insure that the coldest bottles aredispensed first, and in which the caps of the bottles to be dispensedare visible to avoid confusion in the selection of the desired beverage.

While I have shown my invention in but one form, it will be obvious tothose skilled in the art that it is not so limited, but is susceptibleof various other changes and modifications without departing from thespirit thereof, and I desire, therefore, that only such limitationsshall be placed thereupon as are imposed by the prior art or as arespecifically set forth in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a bottle cooler, the combination of an insulated chamber havingtwo spaced apart openings in its top, closure members for said openings,a horizontal partition in said chamber, a cooling unit below saidpartition, 9, fan for circulating air over said cooling unit and aroundsaid partition, the direction of air flow above the partition being fromone of said openings to the other, a plurality of foraminated basketssupported on said partition and readily movable thereon, said basketsbeing shaped for removal and insertion through said openings, saidbaskets further having a sectional area closely fitting the interior ofsaid chamber above said partition at right angles to the flow of airabove said partition, whereby the air circulated by said fan is forcedthrough the foraminations of said baskets to rapidly cool the contentsthereof.

2. In a bottle cooler, the combination of an insulated chamber havingtwo spaced apart openthe direction of air flow above the partition beingfrom one of said openings to the other. a plural ity of basket on saidpartition, said baskets being shaped to support bottles in an uprightposition, said baskets being further shaped for removal or insertionthrough said openings, the top wall of said chamber being in closeproximity above said bottles when upright in said basket, whereby theair circulated by said fan is forced in close contact with said bottles.

3. In a bottle cooler, the combination of an insulated chamber havingtwo spaced apart openings in its top, closure members for said openings,a horizontal partition in said chamber, said partition beingspaced atone edge from the side wall of said chamber, said partition having anopening adjacent the opposite edge thereof, a centrifugal fan revolvingon a vertical axis below said partition and in alignment. with saidopening for drawing air therethrough, said fan forcing air across thecooling unit, through the space at one edge of the partition and throughthe space above the partition, a plurality of baskets supported on saidpartition and readily movable thereon, said baskets being shaped forremoval and insertion through said openings.

4. In a refrigerated dispensing device, the combination of an insulatedchamber having two spaced-apart openings in its top, a cooling unit inone portion of the bottom of said chamber, said cooling unit havinghorizontal air passages therein, a centrifugal blower in another portionof the bottom of said chamber, a plate covering the cooling unit and theblower, said plate having an opening therein, a basket on said plate,

said basket being shaped for insertion or removal through said openings,said blower, plate, and

evaporator being adapted to circulate air through i the horizontal airpassages of the cooling unit, through the portion of the chamber abovethe plate, through the opening in the plate and through said basket.

5. In a bottle cooler, the combination of an insulated chamber havingtwo spaced apart openings in its top, closure members for said openings,a horizontal partition in said chamber, a cooling unit below saidpartition, a fan for circulating air over said cooling unit and aroundsaid partition, the direction of air flow above the partition being fromone of said openings to the other, a plurality of foraminated basketsmovably supported above said partition, said baskets being shaped forremoval and insertion through said openings, said baskets further havinga sectional area closely fitting the interior of said chamber above saidpartition at right angles to the fiow of air above said partition,whereby the air circulated by said fan is forced through theforaminations of said baskets 'to rapidly cool the contents thereof.

ELO c. TANNER.

